Property market finally appears to be cooling

Myvalocity believes the Reserve Bank's loan-to-value restrictions and a lack of supply are both having an impact (Getty)

There are fresh signs the property market is cooling.

Property valuation website Myvalocity says mortgage registrations fell by 21 percent last month compared to the same time a year ago.

Auckland saw the largest decline, with mortgage registrations falling 26.2 percent from September 2015.

North Island metro centres were down by 15.6 percent. But both Wellington and the South Island saw an increase of 2.8 percent.

Myvalocity CEO Carmen Vicelich says the decline has occurred "despite good migration, record low interest rates and the price pressure that still exists in the property market".

"This is something we have not seen before. The property market is, to some extent, seasonal and traditionally we expect to see a rise in mortgage registrations in spring. However this has not been the case so far this year."

Myvalocity believes the Reserve Bank's loan-to-value restrictions and a lack of supply are both having an impact.

Mortgage registrations for investors in Auckland fell by 35.3 percent from a year ago. Auckland first-home buyers were the only sector that saw growth in September, up 4 percent on the previous month.

The number of sales in all prices brackets is down from September 2015, particularly properties priced below $500,000.

Myvalocity says sales of properties under $500,000 equated to just over half (55.1 percent) of all homes sold nationwide in the last quarter. This is slightly above the proportion of properties available nationwide (46.2 percent) valued below $500,000.

Ms Vicelich says in Auckland, properties over $1 million accounted for 30.3 percent of all sales in the last quarter. That is below the proportion of Auckland properties valued in that price bracket (41.2 percent).

The majority of sales were in the $500,000 to $1,000,000 price bracket.

Although mortgage registrations are down from the same time a year ago, there has been a rise in new building consents and renovations across the country.